by Stephanie Smith

Historically, all of our farm was prairie land with little or no trees. Few prairie species remained when we bought the farm in 1995. In keeping with the spirit of renovating the old farmhouse and smokehouse, we decided to restore some of natural history of the farm. This meant reintroducing prairie species on 10 acres. We also are reintroducing wetland species to a marsh that was enlarged from a wet swale that still had wetland plants. Aquatic plants have also been planted in each of our four ponds. Seed sources of the plants have been limited to the northern half of Missouri in most cases. This is an attempt to preserve the local genetics for each type of plant, rather than importing genetics from another region or state. Plants from our region are generally more adapted to local conditions. Each year more remnant prairie and marsh populations are lost, especially along roadsides and along railroad tracks and from the effects of urbanization and intensive agricultural practices.

On ground that was row cropped, I mainly flagged areas of clay at the surface. Little bluestem was concentrated in these areas, due to their drought tolerance. Our land was hardpan prairie, meaning an impermeable clay layer is about a foot below the surface. The soil is wet in the winter and the spring and then dries quickly in the summer. Many native plants are adapted to this type of soil. I purchased wild seed, not cultivars, for species that are commercially available. The rest was hand collected where I had permission to collect. For the initial sowing, ground was harrowed and then seed was hand broadcast during the winter. It was cultipacked to assure firm contact with the ground. Freezing and thawing also accomplishes this. Weeds were mowed to keep them at a foot tall for the first growing season. This kept the seedling from being overcome by the weeds. Richer soils have more weed problems than poorer soils. After the second growing season, we have burned the fields annually to favor the prairie grasses, sedges, and flowers. If you have the fuel in the pasture (previous years’ dead growth) summer and fall burns favor the wildflowers and spring ephemerals. Winter burns are more neutral in effect. Spring burns generally favor the warm season grasses and hammer the spring wildflowers and sedges. We have continued to add species each year by frost seeding during the winter and by planting plugs that have been grown in flats from seed. Try to plant as many species as possible the first two to three years. Also, it is important to analyze your land: where is it wet, where moist, where dry, what is the acidity, etc. Avoid poisonous plants if you are going to graze animals. You can get help selecting the right plants for the different areas of your planting. Having a friend who is a botanist helps too!

Wetland plants establish very quickly compared to upland species. Be careful to note how rapidly your selected plants will spread. Some are very aggressive. For a wetland site, it is best if the topsoil is left in place. On new ponds, many times there is no topsoil and plants have a much harder time becoming established.

One issue with wetlands is nuisance animals. Muskrats have been a yearly problem – making large holes in two dams. One required $700.00 in repairs. Giant Canada geese have been an aggressive nuisance as well; I won’t let them nest on our farm. We love our native ducks and other birds. A beaver cut down a bur oak and then moved on. We do love wildlife intensely. Some are problematic, however. Muskrats perform an act called an “eat out.” This is an annual problem where they eat 100% of certain species. I cannot keep arrowheads or water lilies in the big pond because of this problem. A friend and I regularly swap wetland plants and I keep as many species in each pond as I can, so we hopefully do not both lose the same plant species in the same year. An old shallow pond that had been pickerel weed heaven (probably a thousand plants) now has only three plants and I found a muskrat tunnel. That’s the first they’ve raided that pond! Sigh…

Tags: grass,grazing,pasture,pond,prairie,species,topsoil,wetlands
Categories: Farm and Field, Livestock, Wildlife